How bad can it possibly be?
by Shingeki I Am
Summary: Joining the Military and the Scouting Legion is not like what you expected it to be. It is a hundred times worse.
1. Leaving Home

_**AN:**_  
_iHola! First SnK fic I've ever written, hopefully it won't be the last! You're probably wondering what kind of fic this is and what I can tell you is this; it's not romance based. There might be a romance interest for our main character - that's YOU, but no mushy-mush-mush stuff. This story will be about the Reader joining the Military and realizing how difficult life truly is when you live in a world where there are Titans trying to eat you whenever they get the chance. _  
_Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin_

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Your mother begged you not to go. Your father was in shock, he wouldn't even look at you, he just sat with his back against you. His body was shaking.  
"Please," your mother begged, "don't go! They are dangerous! You'll get killed! Why can't you take that farming job Auntie Clara offered you? At least you will be safe!" her usually beautiful shining grey eyes looked lifeless, it pained you to see your parents like this, but maybe…just maybe you could make a difference? Make the Titan problem go away, even though you might end up dead, you still wanted to try. To give your parents and your younger siblings a chance to live outside of the walls. Perhaps you didn't last long, perhaps you weren't in the top ten, but still; you had to at least try!  
"I'm going," you said firmly, giving your mother a stern look, "I'm going to make a difference!"  
"How many who have died do you think already thought that, huh?! You're not the first to think like that!" your mother yelled as she grabbed your hand and squeezed in her shaking hands. Her head fell, nuzzling your hand while sobbing loudly.  
"Please," she pleaded, but you couldn't stay. Not doing anything to help, it didn't feel right. You pulled your arm out of your mother's grip and said good bye. Little did you know that it was going to be the last you ever saw of her, your family and your home, again.

Lucky for you, another boy from your village, Ragako, also wanted to join the Military. He always boasted about how he would slash down the Titans and how famous he would eventually get. Though, he didn't really fit the Military type, he was more of the village clown, not paying attention and just did whatever he wanted. All your life you had known him and grew close quickly. There was nothing going on in the village, so when the two of you were younger you would go on adventures and fight Titans, and be heroes. Although, none of you had ever seen a Titan before, you were sure to be able to kill at least one. How difficult could it really be? They looked like big humans with a great appetite, if the rumors where true. It certainly felt good though, to have company, you liked his boasting personality and how he was so out spoken, while you, on the other hand, often kept your thoughts to yourself. Yes, Connie Springer was a good friend of yours, so it was a relief he too wanted to join the Military. The thought of going on your own felt lonely and sad, especially since he had always been by your side and you by his. It would have felt strange to part ways.  
"What did your parents say?" he asked. You didn't want to talk about it, but you answered him anyway, seeing as he was your best friend. And because he asked.  
"Mother didn't want me to go, she cried and begged me to stay, while father just sat there quietly not uttering one word, though I don't think he liked the idea of me going away."  
"Ah," he said and suddenly the air felt heavy, "my mom said she would like me to stay, but that she was proud of me for doing this. I just hope I'll get to see my family again," he finished with a nervous laugh. You patted his bald head and offered him a kind smile as you said; "I'm sure we will see them again someday." He nodded with a smile.

Neither of you were certain of what was going to happen; all you knew was that it probably wasn't going to be easy, at least not at first. Connie continued to make conversations, he spoke about the different forces and which he wanted to join; the Military Police. They got to stay in the inner walls, protecting the King and other nobles. In other words, the chance of meeting a Titan was small, too small for your liking.  
"Why not the Scouting Legion?" you asked curiously.  
"What?! Why would I join them?! Don't you know that most of them get killed? And not in the most gracious ways, either. They say that the Titans eat their legs like they were simple twigs," he shivered at the thought.  
"Well, they do actually get to go outside the walls, the Military Police doesn't."  
"You are insane, do you know that?" he said, half-jokingly, half-serious.  
"Not everyone gets killed," you shrugged. Connie's eyes lit up and his mouth formed into a goofy smirk, he knew who you were thinking of. You chose to ignore his taunts and waved them of saying he was just jealous which made the young boy blush and deny it a hundred times.

It had been a long journey, but finally, after the long walk, you were finally ready to enroll in the Military. Connie gulped as he saw how many there were, many who looked menacing and strong. You didn't find them so menacing, you just wondered how many of them would actually survive. All around you people were murmuring and whispering to each other. Some were more nervous than others, and some laughed and joked. Did they even know how dangerous it was?  
"Hey, I heard there's some kids who saw the Colossal Titan and who's enrolling today," a tall girl whispered to her slightly shorter friend who gasped. They were right in front of you, the tall girl looked to each side as if she was afraid the kids who survived would hear her.  
"Really?! They survived? How's that possible? Shinganshina's supposed to be wrecked. I heard no one survived after the Armored Titan broke through Wall Maria," the other girl whispered. As you tried to hear what they were saying, Connie gently punched you in the shoulder, you turned to give him a look, but you saw he was staring at something above. It was the Chief Instructor.  
"I guess it begins," Connie said nervously as a sweat drop fell from his forehead.  
"Yeah," you said and grabbed his hand tightly. 

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_It may seem a little rushed, but it's only the beginning. Next chapter's about meeting the other trainee's. I will try to upload as soon as I can. _


	2. The Recruits

**AN:  
**_This felt a little rushed, but I've been busy all day and that's a very lame excuse, I know, but what can you do? :3_  
_I would like to thank the people following this story, it made my day, so thanks guys! :D_

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"Listen up, you maggots!" Chief Instructor Keith Shadis hollered to the new recruits, his face was contorted in a rather angry expression. It looked like he was going to sneeze…  
He continued to scream and shout at the recruits, he was now standing in front of Connie, spit flying in his face. The shouting didn't stop; the Chief Instructor had now lifted Connie up by his head because Connie hadn't done the salute properly. You sighed, Connie had to focus and listen to the Instructor if he wanted to join the Military Police, and they only picked the best of the best, after all. Then, right in front of you, a biting loud crunching sound was heard. The girl in front of you was eating a potato. It looked raw. Chief Instructor Keith Shadis saw this (with disbelieving look) and marched right up to her. All you could see was the angry and slightly irritated face of the Chief Instructor. You couldn't believe what happened next, the potato girl talked back; asking if he had didn't know what potatoes were for. Sasha Braus was her name and she was from the southern Wall Rose village of Dauper.  
"_What a strange girl,"_ you thought as you watched the Instructor command her to run laps until her legs caved in.  
When you were dismissed, you walked quickly to Connie and asked if his head was alright. He answered with a "Tch!" and a low "Yeah" as he rubbed the sides of his head where the Instructor had held him tightly.  
"Poor girl," you muttered as you looked at Sasha running further and further away.  
"She kind of deserved it, though, talking back like that. She might not last long if she keeps up like that," he said before dragging you after him to the barracks.

At dawn, you alongside Connie and a couple of other recruits watched as the potato girl ran her last lap, she had already been running for 5 hours. It was strange she hadn't fainted yet. So, of course, the topic which was this strange girl quickly became popular.  
"If I'm not mistaken, Drauper's a backwater mountain village of hunters," Connie shared with the small group. You had heard about it, they were good hunters and capable of surviving in the forest, until a Titan comes along, of course. On the other side, on an uphill road there two horses were pulling a carriage with what looked like some of the newest recruits.  
"What's that?" the boy named Eren Yeager asked. He had big green eyes and short brown hair, and he was always talking.  
"Dropouts," Mina Carolina said, a girl you had barely got to know. She had her black hair tied in two loose pigtails. She was of the quiet sort, but still she spoke about what was on her mind. You liked Mina; she was kind and nice to be around. So was Eren's friend, Armin Arlert, as well as another boy named Marco. Armin had blond hair and light blue eyes and he had a constant worrying kind of look, like if something was going to happen. Marco Bodt was kind and he always seemed to be able to cheer people up from whatever funk they were in. He was black-haired and had gold-brown eyes.  
"They asked to be transferred to the landfills," Mina said.  
Armin seemed shocked, "Seriously? But it's only the first day?"  
"It's only normal," Eren contorted, "those without strength have no place here."  
His comment seemed to surprise the others, but you understood what he meant.  
"But still," Eren continued, "wanting to pick up rocks and pull weeds…"  
Marco suddenly raised himself from his previous relaxed position,  
"That reminds me, you weren't asked where you were from and all that." He asked. Eren put his hand on Armin's shoulder and said,  
"This guy and I are from Shiganshina."  
"Oh, so…" Marco started, surprise and shock evident in his eyes.  
Connie seemed more energetic than you had seen him in weeks,  
"Then that means you were on that day, right? Did you see it? The Colossal Titan?" He grinned. You smacked him in the back of his head and gave him a look.  
"Yeah," Eren said sadly, the conversation had stopped. It wasn't pleasant anymore. So, instead, you pulled Connie along with you to have a little chat while you walked.  
"What?" he asked brashly. He didn't like to be ordered around, especially not in front of the other recruits.  
"You should show a little bit more sensitivity, Connie. They were through a lot, you know. Would you have wanted people asking about such a horrendous experience?"  
"No, _mom_," he said, teasing you a bit. You didn't answer; instead you patted his bald head and waved for him to follow you.

"So, what do you think of the others so far?" Connie asked, breaking the comfortable silence. He had his arms behind his head in a lazy manor, though; it looked more exhausting walking like that.  
"They seem okay. Hope they get through the trials, I've heard they are quite difficult."  
"They better be. If the time comes and I have to fight Titans, I want to be at my best," Connie said, you nodded in agreement. Then, a bell rang, the signal for dinner. With one quick step you had turned your back and started walking quickly towards the dining hall.  
"Oi!" Connie shouted, "It's just dinner!" he said as he tried to catch up.  
"Yeah, I know. I'm just very hungry," you said. It was true, you hadn't eaten since lunch and it was killing you slowly, but surely.

When people were starting to get finished eating, they all surrounded Eren and Armin's table. They bombarded them with questions about the Colossal Titan, the Armored Titan and all of the other Titans. Eren looked calm and he answered everyone's answer, a bit reluctantly at first. You sat on the table next to him, just listening quietly. It bothered you a bit how inconsiderate the others were. You knew why they were wondering, they wanted to know what the Titans did, so they would know what to do if they ever met eye to eye with one.

"Come on, are you retarded?" a boy named Jean Kirschtein asked. The question was directed at Eren who had just said something boisterous. You hadn't heard what he said; you were too busy thinking about the Titans.  
"Did you just say you wanted to join the Legion?" the boy named Jean said mockingly. Eren looked at him with an angry look and said, "Yeah, I do."  
You recognized Jean from earlier, from when the Chief Instructor walked around asking about names.  
"Didn't you say you wanted to join the Military Police and take it easy?" Eren asked. The tension felt heavy all of a sudden. "_They're not going to start a fight, are they?" _you thought and sighed.  
"I'm an honest man," he said with a pleased smile, "you won't find _me_ acting like a hero when I'm actually pissing my pants."  
Eren quickly rose from his seat, looking at Jean with a deadly glare.  
"You talking to me?"  
"Oh, come on. I wasn't really…" Jean said, they were just a few inches away from each other. It looked like the start of a fight. Luckily, the bell that signaled it was bed time rang and interrupted the little 'fight'. Jean smiled,  
"All right, sorry about that." He said and reached out his hand to Eren who looked irritated, though, he did shake Jean's hand with a determined look.  
"That could have gone bad," Mina whispered to you.  
"Well, at least they're mature enough to realize fighting won't help them survive," you whispered back. Honestly, you did wish for something to happen. It was awfully boring not doing anything except from the basic combat training. You said good night to Connie and Marco and walked out with Mina to the girls' dorm. Outside, Sasha, the potato girl, had finally finished her laps. She was lying on the ground heaving for air. A blonde girl, whose name was, if you remembered it correctly, was Christa Renz. She had bread in her arms and offered it to the exhausted Sasha who gladly accepted it. Sasha continued to wail and hug the blonde blue-eyed girl while asking if she was God.

"She sure is energetic, though," Mina said with a smile.  
"True, but I'm not sure if she belongs here. She doesn't seem like the Military type, if you get what I mean," you said and opened the door for Mina. She nodded,  
"Yeah, but do any of us seem like the Military type?" she shrugged and fell down on her bed with a content sigh.  
"Well, that Mikasa Ackerman sure seems like the Military type," you said as the black-haired girl came to your mind. She was one of the greater soldiers, if not the best. None of you had been tested thoroughly yet, but it seemed like Ackerman was an exceptional soldier, if you believed the instructors.  
"Sure, but she's so scary," Mina said. Right after, Mikasa, Christa, Sasha and a girl named Ymir walked in.  
"We'll talk more tomorrow," you said and lied down on your own bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. It was an odd thought; you had made it this far and nothing happened. The camp felt like a haven of some sort. All you did was train, eat and sleep. That was it. The training was basic and simple, even when the Instructors stood behind you and shouted until they became blue in the face. Still, somewhere in your stomach you felt unease. It was just _too easy_.  
"_Oh, well, we'll see about the 3D-gear training tomorrow,"_ you thought and closed your eyes. Right before you fell asleep; you realized you still needed to change. With a low growl, you rolled out of bed and found your pajamas and put them on. The other girls laughed and talked about the guys. You huffed and went back to your bed; the last thing you heard was the voice of the potato girl asking if anyone had any bread on them. 

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_**AN:**_  
_Ah~, potato girl, she's awesome. By the way, if anyone has any wishes concerning the "romantic interest" please do tell me about it. Of course, romance isn't really needed, but if anyone want it or not, speak up! I know where I want this story to go, but it would be nice to hear your opinions, too._  
_Oh, before I forget, when the Lance Corporal/Heichou gets introduced I will write his name like "Rivaille", because it sounds...cool (let's go with that). Anyway, that was it! Thanks for reading! _


End file.
